Once upon a time, superhero comics were treated with so little regard among Hollywood circles that the set of 2000’s “X-Men” was considered a comics-free zone. Things have come a long way since then, to say the absolute least, but “Secret Invasion” director Ali Selim’s latest comments might just bring back some awkward flashbacks to a much different time. In a new interview with Screen Rant, Selim explained how he first joined the show under strict orders not to allow himself to become influenced by how the comics handled the story:
“When I took on this job as director, I didn’t write the script. So a lot of those decisions were made by Kyle Bradstreet and the other team of writers that we had. The first thing I was told is don’t read the comics. It had nothing to do with what we’re trying to do here. This story was really born out of the electricity created between Sam Jackson and Ben Mendelsohn or Nick Fury and Talos in ‘Captain Marvel.’ And they said, ‘Oh, we got to do something with that.’ So they found a story that would serve that relationship and would expand the MCU and other characters who are not in the comic books. I think it’s a story unto itself.”
There’s definitely some merit to this thought process as a director, freeing Selim to hone in on the specific story aspects from the MCU that ought to be emphasized. But as writers, Bradstreet and the writing team likely did more than their fair share of homework and deep-dives into the comics. Does the premiere pull off this tricky balance? You can watch the first episode of “Secret Invasion” on Disney+ (and then read my recap of the premiere afterwards).